THOUSANDS of homeowners have never valued their home contents, in shock new findings.

A startling one in ten British homeowners aged 55 and over have never valued their home contents, leaving millions of pounds’ worth of items in homes across Britain at risk of being uninsured.

And worryingly, almost a quarter (23 per cent) don’t know what the most valuable item in their house is.

The new research comes from home insurer NFU Mutual, conducted in partnership with YouGov, and shines a light on how British homeowners view their possessions and what measures are being put in place to protect their items.

Looking specifically at belongings within the house, the research also revealed that although more homeowners over the age of 55 believe a piece of jewellery is their most valued possession (24 per cent), almost a fifth (19 per cent) consider a piece of technology to be the most valuable item in their home.

9 Security tips for your home & valuables

Security advice to keep your home and valuables safe.

“That’s why it’s important to assess the value of your possessions every few years and update your home insurance too so your most treasured possessions are properly covered if you ever need to make a claim.”

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said rental prices are predicted to outpace house price inflation, as an imbalance between supply and demand squeezes rents higher.

Over the coming five years, surveyors anticipate rents will increase by just over 25 per cent, while house price inflation, as an imbalance between supply and demand squeezes rents higher.

GETTY

Home contents: A fifth of homeowners believe technology is their most valuable item

Over the coming five years, surveyors anticipate rents will increase by just over 25 per cent, while house prices risky just under 20 per cent.

Pics found a net balance of 28 per cent more surveyors feel landlords are likely to decrease rather than increase their portfolios over the next 12 months and over the next three years a balance of 26 per cent expect landlords to scale back their portfolios.

This could push rents higher as tenants would be competing for fewer rental properties.

Pics said a lack of listing coming to the lettings market could become a bigger issue in the years ahead as a recent stamp duty hike for landlords and other tax changes diminish the attractiveness of buy-to-let as an investment.